A ceremony Wednesday morning marked the transfer of the 1.6-million-square-foot plant to the space center, which employs more than 1,000 residents of St. Tammany Parish.

Stennis Space Center is home to more than 30 federal, state, academic and private organizations.

Part of the plant has already been renovated, and a dozen employers, such as Louisiana-based Omni Technologies Inc. and BOE-TEL Communications Co., have already moved in, said Stennis spokeswoman Rebecca Strecker.

Because both facilities are government-owned, NASA did not have to purchase the plant. A transition team was created three years ago to transfer ownership from the army to NASA.

The Army Ammunition Plant opened in 1983, the only ammunition plant the Army built after the Korean War and "the most sophisticated munitions manufacturing facility in the nation," Strecker said.

Plant production ended in 1990, and the Army began leasing its space to tenants in 1992. U.S. officials designated it for closure in 2005, and the plant officially closed in 2009.

"Stennis Space Center is a major economic engine for this region," Stennis Space Center Director Patrick Scheuermann said in a news release. "This property transfer assures Stennis will not only remain an economic force for years to come, but will grow even stronger and have an even greater impact on its surrounding communities."